


I Won't Mind

by walking_travesty



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Cuddling, Cute, Famous Zayn, Fluff, Implied Zayn Malik/Harry Styles, Louis being difficult, M/M, Niam - Freeform, Non-Famous Liam, Non-Famous Louis, Non-Famous Niall, Past Zayn Malik/Harry Styles, Recreational Drug Use, Solo Artist Zayn, Weed, drug mention, everyone is difficult i am so sorry, famous!zayn, harry is not really in this, i couldnt write zouis without them smoking weed im sorry, kind of, like at all, niall being difficult, not really actually, sorry - Freeform, zouis - freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-05 01:10:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5355305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/walking_travesty/pseuds/walking_travesty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>“The British Trailblazer was photographed getting quite cozy with an unknown male on the balcony of his hotel late Friday night.”</i><br/><i>“Oh shit,” Louis says under his breath, heart dropping into his shoes. Seconds later, a grainy photo of the two of them mid-kiss flashes onto the screen, “Fuck.”</i><br/>Or that one where Louis meets his idol and everything is pretty unreal after that (with side Niam being oblivious love-sick idiots)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote for the prompt:  
>  _Zayn is a famous R &B artist, and Louis is a groupie (?!) Their relationship starts out casual but they both end up wanting something more. Side Sophiam or Niam maybe?_  
> It was so much fun writing for this prompt!! thank you for having such nice prompts to choose from!  
> I would like to thank [Biinkun](http://www.biinkun.tumblr.com) and [Deadlylou](http://www.deadlylou.tumblr.com) for being the wind beneath my wings through out this whole process and being really great betas!! Special thanks to Biinkun for being an awesome friend and letting me whine to him constantly about this fict!!!  
> Any mistakes still left are my own x  
> Hopefully you enjoy it?????? (I hope you do)

“I still can’t decide if you’re a good witch, or a bad witch.” Louis mumbles through a mouthful of ramen. He sets his bowl down, licking his lips as he stares at the blond across from him. Niall rolls his eyes, standing up from their kitchen table.

It was the day before Louis’ birthday concert and well – he was practically vibrating with excitement. Because (arguably) his best friend, Niall, got him tickets to see Zayn Malik, and he not only got tickets, but he managed to get _meet and greet_ passes. Louis was dreaming all of this up – it _had_ to be a dream.

“I’m your best friend, Lou, and it was your birthday. I had to make it special, didn’t I?” Niall laughs, getting a plate from the cabinet.

“Yea, but this is too special! _Meet and Greet_ tickets? Those must’ve costed a fortune?” Louis complains, giving Niall an incredulous look. Niall looks over his shoulder, giving Louis a pointed glare.

“Louis, don’t worry about it – seriously, it was no problem at all.” Niall reassures him, giving him a look that said _end of story_. Niall turns back around, humming as he fills his plate with leftover chinese food.

Sometimes, Louis loves his life.

“I just can’t believe we’re seeing Zayn Malik tomorrow. Zayn _Fucking_ Malik.” Louis sighs, trying very hard (and failing miserably) to keep the smile out of his tone. “The Greek God himself.” Niall rolls his eyes, sitting down across from Louis. When he scoots in his chair, his knees brush against Louis’ like they always do when they both sit at the table at the same time.

He scrunches his nose at Louis, taking a bite of last night’s chicken low mein, “Jesus, you’re gagging for it, aren’t you?” Niall snickers, mouth full. Louis raises an eyebrow at him, ignoring the way his cheeks burned with embarrassment.

“Speaking of gagging for it – when’s Liam coming over? I haven’t seen you two eye fuck each other yet. My day hasn’t properly started until that’s happened.” Louis quips, laughing sharply when Niall chokes on a piece of chicken. Niall scowls at him as he takes a big gulp of his glass of water.

“W-We don’t _eye fuck_ each other,” Niall argues weakly, clearing his throat. “We’re friends. That’s it.”

“He’s in love with you, y’know?” Louis says bluntly, picking at his nails nonchalantly, “And you’re in love with him, I honestly don’t know why you two haven’t-”

“-Shut up, Louis, please,” Niall groans, “I’m not in love with anyone, Lou. I would know if I was fucking in love with someone.”

“Oh, Ni, you poor, blond motherfucker.” Louis pouts, reaching over the table to grab his hand, “You’re romantically challenged; I’m surprised you even know what a date is, love.” Louis cooes sarcastically, smirking.

“Oh piss off, Louis. It’s not like you do any better in the love department.” Louis is genuinely taken back by the statement; cupping a hand to his chest.

“Yea, well at least I don’t dream about getting fucked by our neighbor.” Louis replies lamely, getting up from his seat. He picks up his now empty bowl, scruffing up Niall’s hair as he makes his way over to the sink. He puts his bowl on top of the other dishes that have yet to be washed.

“Fuck, it’s too early for this.” Niall groans, putting a hand over his eyes.

“It’s never too early for the truth, Niall.” Louis says matter-of-factly, patting Niall on the head.

“Please – _stop_ talking.” Niall murmurs softly, pouting down at his plate.

The two lift their heads up at the same time when they hear a knock on the door. A few seconds pass before Liam opens the door and pops his head through. He smiles brightly at the two of them, pulling himself the rest of the way in.

“Y’know, you should really start locking your door, you don’t want just anyone walking in, do you?” Liam scolds lightly, shaking his head. Louis rolls his eyes as he pulls himself onto the counter, feet barely touching the ground.

“Yes, _dad_ ,” Louis sighs sarcastically, “Are you gonna’ tell me that I need to clean my room too?”

“Actually yes, it’s disgusting in there, Lou,” Liam scoffs, scrunching his nose, “There was a slice of pizza in there once that looked more like a failed science experiment than food.” He comments, shivering at the memory. Liam flits his eyes towards Niall after a second and Louis wants to throw up at the softness that’s there when he looks at Niall. “Hey, Ni! How’s my favorite blond?” Liam says cheerfully, cheeks pinker than they were a minute ago. Louis can’t see Niall’s expression, but he imagines that it matches Liam’s almost to the T.

“I want to hurry up and get Lou’s damn birthday weekend over with.” Niall snips, getting up from his seat. He grabs his empty plate, but Liam snatches it out of his hand within seconds.

“I got it, you guys need to do dishes anyway, right?” Liam asks, already knowing the answer. Liam hums under his breath as he makes his way over to the sink, turning on the faucet when he’s there. Niall turns around, cheeks as red as a tomato. Louis raises an eyebrow at the boy, a shit-eating grin forming on his face.

“Isn’t that sweet? Like an old married couple, you two. Adorable.” Niall gives Louis a look of murder while Liam just shrugs, turning his head to hide the blush on his cheeks.

“Y’know, you should really go pack for the trip, Lou. We should start leaving soon if we wanna get to LA by night.” Liam says turning his head towards Louis. Louis gives him a knowing look, rolling his eyes when Liam pouts in confusion. Louis groans dramatically, sliding off of the counter. “ I can’t believe I’m going to spend _six_ hours in a car with you lot. Lord help me.” Liam groans, failing to keep the fondness out of his tone.

“It’ll be three if you guys let me drive.” Louis suggests, wiggling an eyebrow.

“No.” The two other boys say in unison.

“Oh why not? I’m a good driver!” Louis tries to reason, though he doesn’t really believe himself. Niall snorts, crossing his arms over his chest.

“The speeding tickets I helped you pay last year say differently, babe.” Niall says, raising an eyebrow at Louis. “Liam’s driving. There is no fucking way I’m letting you drive my car to LA.”

Louis stomps his foot stubbornly, looking between Niall and Liam. Liam catches his eye and shrugs, putting the final dish onto the drying rack by the sink. Louis tries to come up with something clever to say but then sighs, throwing his hands up in defeat.

“Whatevs, your car’s a piece of shit anyway.” Louis mutters under his breath as he shuffles away from the kitchen.

||+||

 

Louis does eventually get packed, lugging an over stuffed duffle bag with him down to the parking lot of their apartment building. He squints when he’s finally outside, the California sun unforgiving in the clear blue sky above.

“I hope it doesn’t rain.” Louis mutters, adjusting the backpack on his shoulders and tightening his grip on the duffle bag in his hand. Liam rolls his eyes, adjusting the black snapback on his head. He takes the keys from Niall’s back pocket, as he opens the driver’s side of the car.

“It hasn’t rained in weeks, Lou. It’ll be fine.” Niall quips, opening the trunk of his car, “Just focus on the sick time we’re going to have in LA this weekend, dude.”

Niall did have a point. Not only was Louis going to the concert of his dreams on Saturday night, but he was going to have a great time with his boys before and after it. San Francisco was an amazing town, don’t get him wrong, but it’s nothing compared to LA. It has an incomprehensible energy that Louis was drawn to. He dreamed of moving there one day; pursuing his passion for acting and living his life like he wants to. Like he’s _supposed_ to.

But his parents wouldn’t be too happy about that. He can hear his step-dad now –

_“Louis, acting is not a reliable career to be going into! Let alone in Los Angeles! There are stars made every second there, but you, you don’t have that star quality, Louis – you just don’t.”_

Louis sneers at the thought, telling himself to repress, to push it down with all the other negative thoughts he had stored away inside of him. _Happy thoughts._

Louis puts his stuff with the other bags in the trunk, making his way to the passenger side of the car. “Niall’s got shotgun!” Liam shouts from inside the car. Louis squints his eyes, clicking his tongue. He gives Niall a nasty look before pulling open the back door.

“It’s my birthday weekend, I should be getting shotgun.” Louis huffs lowly, leaning his back against his seat. Niall clambers into the front seat, slamming the door. He turns to look back at Louis winking at him deviously.

“This is my car. I think you’re forgetting that.” Niall murmurs. Liam turns the ignition, putting the car into reverse.

“And besides, your birthday was in December, it’s not _really_ your birthday weekend.” Liam states matter-of-factly as he backs out of Niall’s parking space.

“Shut up, Payno.”

||+||

 

Louis falls asleep after an hour of driving down the highway, the sounds of Niall and Liam chattering in the front seat and the sultry voice of Zayn Malik coming through the speakers of the car puts him to sleep with a smile on his face.

Louis is pulled from his dream (the one where Zayn and him elope to Canada) with a honk of a car horn. He startles, blinking drowsily.

“Oi! Hold your horses, arsehole!” Niall shouts from the rolled down window, Irish lilt rolling off his tongue (his accent wasn’t as thick as it used to be like when they were children – Louis remembers barely even being able to understand him when they first met in the sixth grade.). Niall puts his hand out of the window, giving the car behind them the finger.

Louis snorts softly, sitting up. He looks out his window, noticing how the sun was sitting much lower in the sky than when they had left. He pulls out his phone, snapping a few pictures before turning his attention to the front.

“What time is it?” Louis croaks, voice still rough from sleep. Liam looks at him through the rear view mirror, smiling softly.

“It’s almost seven.” Niall says,yawning into a closed fist, “We probably won’t get to the hotel until eight – this fucking traffic is ridiculous.” He groans, pushing a hand through his hair.

“We should go get something to eat first, I’m starving.” Louis suggests, propping his arm on the window sill.

“I think there’s a Thai place near our hotel?” Liam speaks up, looking at Louis through the rear view mirror. Louis perks up at the mention of Thai food, smiling brightly.

“Yea, let’s do it.”

||+||

By the time ten o’clock rolls by, the boys finally get into their hotel room. Louis jumps onto the bed closest to the door, staring up at the ceiling.

“Alright, who’s cuddling who tonight?” Louis says after a few seconds, sitting up. “There are two beds and three of us.” Louis looks between the two of them, eyebrow raised.

“Well I could just sleep on the floor or something.” Liam says shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. Niall and Louis both give him an incredulous look, making Liam blush.

“Dude, there is no way in hell you’re sleeping on the floor.” Niall snorts, patting Liam on the back. “You can sleep in my bed, i-if you want?” Niall offers, eyes glued to the floor. He looks up and catches Louis’ knowing eyes and blushes, shuffling his feet. Liam is taken back by the offer, bottom lip caught between his teeth. He looks torn, his own blush forming on the apples of his cheeks.

“Uh, yeah...I guess that would be cool?” Liam speaks up after a tense few seconds, looking between Niall and Louis. Louis simply shrugs, lying back down on the bed while Niall nods curtly, heading towards the bed on the other side of the room.

“Anyone up for clubbing?” Louis asks, rolling over on his bed. He raises an eyebrow at his two best friends, watching the way the two intentionally try not to touch each other as they both sit on the bed.

“We literally just got in, Lou.” Niall scoffs, leg jumping anxiously. Louis groans, propping his head on top of his knuckles.

“But it’s a Friday night, and we’re in one of the greatest cities in the world – how can we not cease this opportunity to get completely wasted?” Louis argues, looking between his two friends.

The boys argue for another minute or two before Louis gives up, burying his face into the sheets of his bed.

“Fine, you guys win.” He mumbles against the bed, “You two are no fun.” Liam gives him a soft look, throwing his arm across Niall’s shoulders.

“We’re going to have a grand time tomorrow morning! I have everything planned out!” Liam states, wiggling an eyebrow at Louis. Louis and Niall groan in unison.

“In the morning?” Louis whines, rubbing a hand down his face. “I swear, you Canadians and your stupid mornings.” Louis groans again.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Liam scoffs, raising an eyebrow at Louis, pouting. Niall cackles loudly beside him, body shaking with the force of it.

“Where are you from again? Tarantino?” Niall asks through a fit of giggles. Liam smacks the back of his head, trying to keep down the smile that was threatening to form on his lips.

“I’m from _Toronto_ , asshole.” Liam laughs, shaking his head fondly at the boy. Niall is pink cheeked and grinning up at Liam and Louis wants to throw himself out the window. Louis rolls off of the bed, stretching his arms over his head.

“I’m going to get a couple things from the vending machines downstairs, you guys want anything?” Liam shakes his head and Niall just shrugs.

When Louis comes back with an arm full of snacks, Niall and Liam scramble off of the bed at the same time. Both look red cheeked and guilty. Louis puts everything on the desk by the door, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.

“Everything okay, guys?” Louis asks, crossing his arms across his chest. Niall can’t look him in the eye and Liam gives him an uneasy smile. _Interesting_.

“Y-Yea everything is ace, dude.” Niall speaks up, coughing into his fist. He walks over to the desk and picks up a few bags of chips, intentionally trying not to look Louis in the eye. Very interesting.

“Niall…” Louis teases softly, poking him in the ribs. Niall flinches, cheeks going even redder.

“Shut up.” Niall hisses lowly, shuffling away from him.

||+||

 

“Louis.” Liam mumbles softly, shaking Louis’ shoulder. Louis groans, pulling his blanket over his head. “Lou, get up.” Liam tries again, shaking him harder.

“Liam, I swear to God, if you’re waking me up before ten o’clock, I am going to punch you in the dick.” Louis hisses drowsily, adjusting the pillow under his head. He smiles when he hears Niall snickering somewhere in the room.

He opens an eye when he feels the bed dip, groaning when Niall pulls the blanket away from his face.

“C’mon, Lewis,” Niall whines, shaking Louis’ arm, “There’s a cafe down the street? We can go get breakfast?” Louis blinks slowly at the mention of breakfast, yawning into his fist. He finally manages to sit himself up, glaring sleepily at his two best friends.

\--

Louis’ mood brightens once they get outside, the sun sitting high in the sky. He lowers the brim of his snapback (a snapback he stole from Liam at some point) to shade his eyes as they walk casually down the Sunset Strip.

“You’re meeting Zayn Malik tonight, you nervous?” Liam comments casually, raising an eyebrow at Louis. Louis shrugs, trying to fight the smile that was forming on his lips.

“He’s just a person, Li, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Louis comments back, voice surprisingly calm compared to the nuclear explosion that was happening inside of him. He wasn’t a fanboy, he refuses to be labeled a fanboy.

He was a _fan_ , just a fan. He wasn’t going to freak out – he was going to stay calm, cool, and collected.

Hopefully.

Niall snorts at the answer, giving Louis a look that said _you’re full of shit_. They cross the street, their eyes set on a small cafe.

“Five bucks says Louis pees himself when he walks in the room.” Niall cackles, pulling a five dollar bill from his pocket. Liam chuckles in return, eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Ten says he tries to get in his pants.” Liam giggles in return, winking at Louis.

He hates his friends sometimes.

“Twenty says you both shut the fuck up.” Louis growls, holding the door for them, because unlike them; he’s nice (sometimes). He rolls his eyes at the two chuckling boys, he really hates them.

||+||

“Where are we going now, Liam?” Louis whines, wiping the sheen of sweat off of his forehead.

They’ve been out for hours now, Liam dragging them to one place after another. At this point, Louis wasn’t even sure where he was.

“Anything’s better than the La Brea Tar Pits.” Niall pants beside him, putting an arm around Louis’ shoulders. Louis shrugs away the arm, it was way too hot for skin on skin contact.

“Hey! That was actually pretty interesting,” Liam calls behind him, stopping at a crosswalk. “It was like a look into the past!” Louis rolls his eyes while Niall snorts.

“Dork.” Niall mumbles under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest while they wait for the light to change.

“Geek.” Liam replies easily, a carefree grin forming on his mouth. Louis looks between the two of them and groans, putting a hand over his eyes.

“It’s too hot to witness your awkward foreplay.” Louis comments, rubbing the back of his neck. Niall gives him a dirty look while Liam looks anywhere but at the two of them, shoulders tensed. He breathes a sigh of relief when the light turns green.

“We’re going to the Hollywood Walk of Fame; I figured we can do one last thing before the concert tonight.” Liam replies after a while, turning around to face them. Louis makes a noise in confirmation, smirking when Liam trips on the pavement.

“Sounds like a plan; gotta give Lou time to plan how to get into Malik’s pants.” Niall smirks, winking in Louis’ direction. Louis swats at his shoulder as they turn a corner, the Chinese Theatre a few blocks ahead of them.

Louis rolls his eyes, a pout forming on his lips, “I’m not trying to get into anyone’s pants, guys,” Louis groans, leaning into Niall’s side. Niall chuckles lowly, putting an arm around his waist, “And besides, he’s straight. Which means he wouldn’t even consider putting my dick in his mouth.” Liam scoffs in exasperation while Niall bursts out laughing, poking into Louis’ side.

“He’s not straight! What about that thing that happened a few years back? With him and Harry?” Liam quips, throwing a look over his shoulder. Louis rolls his eyes, the bottoms of his feet aching with every step. He leaned further into Niall’s side, his body slowly feeling more fatigued.

“There’s a thing called photoshop, Liam,” Louis replies pointedly, tone clipped.

“So you’ve thought about having your cock in his mouth?” Niall giggles beside him after a second, pulling him along as they cross the street again.

“That’s not the point!”

\--

“When are you going to tell Liam that you’re in love with him?” Louis asks softly, raising an eyebrow at Niall. Niall nearly spits out his tea, turning to look at Louis. He can feel his cheeks burning and he kind of hates himself.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Niall asks, rubbing a hand down his face. Louis snorts, running a hand through his hair, “I’m not in love with him.”

“What happened yesterday?” Louis asks instead, ignoring Niall’s comments, “After I left to go to the vending machine?” Niall doesn’t look him in the eye after he says it, and Louis is immediately intrigued.

“Nothing happened,” Niall replies, biting his lip after and Louis doesn’t believe him one bit. Niall was a shit liar, he always has been.

“Bullshit,” Louis scoffs, “Admit; You wanna fuck his brains out, or you want him to fuck your brains-”

“-can you please shut up?” Niall hisses, clapping a hand over Louis’ mouth. Louis can’t help but laugh at Niall’s face, eyes scanning the room as if Liam would magically appear out of nowhere. Louis licks the palm of Niall’s hand, giggling to himself at the disgusted noise Niall makes.

“Liam’s still in the shower, Ni,” Louis quips, putting a hand on the back of Niall’s neck, “Probably thinking of you naked,” Louis teases, poking his hip. Niall covers his face with his hand, groaning to himself.

“Lou, stop, please,” Niall begs, his face pink with embarrassment. Louis rolls his eyes fondly, pressing Niall into his side.

“Just admit that you like, Niall, no one’s judging you.” Louis says softly, giving Niall an encouraging pat on the back. Niall sighs, his body trembling lightly after. He pulls his hands away from his face, a look of defeat in his eyes. He looks at Louis for a few seconds before he groans deeply, rolling his eyes.

“Fine, I like him, okay?” Niall says quietly, laying his head on Louis’ shoulder.

“Like who?”

The two boys shoot up in surprise, looking towards the door to the bathroom. Liam is leaning against the door frame, legs crossed at the ankles and towel wrapped loosely around his waist. Louis can hear the cut off groan in the back of Niall’s throat. eyes wide and bright. Liam raises an eyebrow at the two of them, an expectant look on his face.

Well…” Louis starts out, jumping in surprise when Niall claps a pale hand over his mouth. Niall looks nervous, looking between the two of them, his right leg jiggling up and down anxiously.

“We were talking about Zayn Malik! He thinks I’m more into him than he is,” Niall snorts, his mouth forming a crooked grin. Niall sags in relief when the smile on Liam’s lips appear; his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Sorry, Ni, I think Louis’ got you beat.” Liam comments softly, padding over to his suitcase. Louis watches Niall out of the corner of his eye; seeing the way his eyes never Liam. Niall looks away after a few lingering seconds, a blush creeping up the side of his neck.  
Louis has to put a hand over his mouth to hide his smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. Liam pads over to the bathroom with his clothes, humming softly under his breath.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Niall hisses under his breath, a crazed look in his eye. Louis throws his head back as he laughs, the sound bouncing off of the plain white walls. Niall claps a hand over his mouth again, rolling his eyes.

“I don’t see what the big deal is, Ni,” Louis giggles after he pulls Niall’s hand away. Niall gives him an incredulous look, mouth hanging open slightly.

“If he knew it could – it could ruin everything! I-It could fucking ruin our friendship, Louis,” Niall nearly shouts, hands gripping his soft blond hair. Louis rolls his eyes at him, leaning back on the bed with his hands.

“He likes you back, Niall, it could be the start of something amazing,” Louis replies, shrugging, “You’ll end up regretting it if you never tell him.” Niall looks defeated at that point, shoulders sagging and forehead creased.

“I’m scared,” He whispers softly, rubbing a pale hand down his face. Louis leans over, putting an arm around Niall’s shoulders.

“He likes you back, Ni. He’s liked you for a long time, it’s so obvious,” Niall raises an eyebrow at him, pouting.

“Well, why didn’t I notice?”

“Romantically challenged, remember?” Louis teases. Niall scoffs, slapping Louis against his chest; smile forming on his lips.

“Are you sure he likes me back? I swear, if I mess things up with him because of you, I’ll -”

“Yes, I’m sure, Ni. You have him practically eating out of the palm of your hand.” Louis reassures, pulling Niall into his side. He wraps his other arm around him, holding him there for a few seconds before Niall pulls back. Niall nods curtly, lips forming a thin line. He gets up from the bed when Liam comes out of the bathroom.

Liam smiles brightly at the both of them, bouncing on the balls of his feet, “So, who’s ready for a Zayn Malik concert tonight?”

 

||+||

 

“Do I look okay?” Louis whispers to Niall, pushing his fringe out of his eyes. Niall rolls his eyes, adjusting the black snapback on his head and turning to look at Louis.

“It’s been half an hour, Louis, you look fine.” Niall comments, leaning into Liam’s side. Liam looks back at the two of them and smiles softly, skin glowing in the late evening sun. Louis pouts, adjusting the collar of his button up. He looks down and notices the black and purple lanyard around his neck and he’s reminded of the fact that he meets Zayn Malik in less than ten minutes.

“You look hot, Lou; seriously.” Liam adds, winking in his direction. Louis rolls his eyes, smiling shyly.

“Really?” Louis asks. Niall and Liam both nod their heads in agreement.

“What about my jeans? How does my -”

“-your ass looks sensational, Louis. If you weren’t like a brother to me, I’d be all over you.” Niall says, cutting him off. Louis perks up at the comment, reaching forward to bring Niall into a hug.

“See, now this is why I keep you two around,” Louis teases, placing a wet kiss on to the side of Niall’s face. Niall huffs, pushing Louis away from him.

“Really? I thought it was because no one else will put up with your abuse.” Niall snorts, leaning against the barricade while Liam nods in agreement.

“That too,” Louis adds.

“Niall, your group can come through now,” A security guard comments, ushering the boys forward. Niall perks up at the voice, reaching out to bring the boy into a hug.

“Thanks, Sandy!” Niall says, patting him on the back. Sandy rolls his eyes, pushing him forward.

“How the hell do you know everyone?” Louis comments under his breath, pinching Niall’s arm. Niall yelps, slapping Louis on the shoulder in protest. The three walk down the hall of the building, the meet and greet suite only a few doors down.

“From school, mostly,” Niall comments after a moment, shrugging, “music majors and all that.”

“Suite 601, this is it, lads!” Liam says, bringing the two boys out of their discussion. Louis’ palms immediately begin to sweat; heart thrumming against his chest. He wipes his hands down the front of his jeans as Liam pushes open the door.  
The room is brightly lit, the walls painted a deep teal color. The room was mostly empty aside from a few tables sitting along the wall on the far side of the room and a red couch sitting off to the side of another. Once the door is closed, two security guards come out of seemingly nowhere.

“Zayn will be in a just a moment,” One of them says, standing in front of the three boys. Niall shrugs his shoulders, deciding to sit on the couch while they wait.

“Alright, cool. Do you think we could get some water or something?” Niall asks, smiling when Liam joins him on the couch.

“Certainly,” The other guard says, walking over to the other door of the room. Niall looks over to Louis once the guard is gone and laughs, Louis looked like a fish out of water.

“Are the nerves finally kicking in?” Liam teases, raising an eyebrow in Louis’ direction. Louis rolls his eyes, jutting his hip out as he bites his lower lip.

“What? Of course not!” Louis scoffs, glaring in Liam’s direction, “There’s nothing to be-”

“-Hey! Sorry I’m late, lads.” A voice says softly, making every single muscle in Louis’ body freeze. No way. No fucking way.

 

Louis looks over to the door and nearly passes out, because Zayn Malik is standing in the doorway. Zayn steps the rest of the way in, shutting the door softly behind him. He looks over to Louis, hazel eyes unreadable and bright; Louis might pass out. Niall is the first to react, jumping up to his feet in an instance.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Niall says happily, reaching for Zayn’s hand. Zayn gives him an answering smile, eyes bright and cheerful and Louis was on fire. He watched the two of them, bouncing anxiously on the balls of his feet.

“Where are the security guards? Aren’t they supposed to be here?” Liam speaks up, a pout on his lips, “Oh, I’m Liam, by the way.” Zayn looks over to him, a smirk forming on his lips. Louis looks between the two of them, rubbing his shoulder anxiously.

“I don’t need a handler, I’m a big boy, yeah?” Zayn laughs, shrugging his thin shoulders, “ ‘told them I was going to be on the bus for a bit.” He smirks, winking in Liam’s direction. Zayn looks at Niall and then Liam, and then towards Louis; it felt like being examined under a magnifying glass.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?” Zayn says, pouting softly. He walks over to Louis, holding out his hand, “I’m Zayn, and you are?”

Louis is wide eyed and afraid and he still cannot believe that this is happening. Louis opens his mouth to speak but nothing comes out. Zayn gives him a reassuring smile and Louis has never felt so embarrassed in his life.

“Cat got your tongue?” Liam snickers softly, winking at Louis. Louis rolls his eyes, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He feels the tension slowly leaving his body; his heart no longer pounding against his chest.

“Louis,” He says, taking Zayn’s hand in his. Zayn gives his hand a soft squeeze, thin fingers brushing against the bone in Louis’ wrist. Louis immediately feels a blush form on his cheeks at the contact.

“Louis is a big fan of you,” Niall adds, raising an eyebrow at Louis.

“Seriously, he wouldn't shut up about you on the way down here.” Liam adds. Louis glares at the two of them; regretting the day he met the two of them. Assholes.

Zayn perks up at the comments, giving Louis an amused smirk – Louis wanted to shrivel up and die.

“D-Don’t listen to a word they say,” Louis stutters, attempting to rub the blush off his cheeks with the palms of his hands. Zayn laughs, thin shoulders moving up and down with the force of it. His eyes are a bright hazel and his smile is a blinding ray of pure happiness; Louis was so gone already. Louis huffs, pouting as he crosses his arms over his chest. “You guys are the worst.”

“I don’t think they’re that bad,” Zayn quips softly, winking in their direction. Niall woops in agreement, clapping a hand on Liam’s shoulder. Louis rolls his eyes, attempting to fight the smile that was threatening to form on his lips.

“Yeah, well you haven’t been around them for more than an hour,” Louis mumbles under his breath. Zayn raises an eyebrow at Louis, the corners of his mouth tilting up in the most subtle of smiles.

“And what about you?” He comments, “Are you any different?” Louis opens his mouth to reply, but closes it just as fast as he opens it; cheeks reddening. He scowls when he hears Niall burst into a fit of laughter and scowls even more when he sees Liam attempting to hold back his own chuckles.

Louis really hated his friends sometimes.

“Traitors; the lot of you.” Louis scoffs, looking away from them. When he looks back, he notices Zayn is staring at him and Louis feels like he couldn’t blush any harder.

“I’m just messing around, babe,” Zayn chuckles softly, rubbing the back of his neck, “just trying to break the ice a little.” Zayn shrugs, expression apologetic; Louis felt like his heart might actually melt. Louis smiles at that; shurgging.

“I don't know if we can come back from this, Zayn. You’ve soiled my name and honor.” Louis sighs dramatically, a hint of a smirk spreading across his lips. Zayn snorts at the answer, fingers tapping against the side of his thigh.

“Would a hug make it better?” Zayn pouts playfully, holding out his arms. He quirks an eyebrow in Louis’ direction and who the hell was Louis to deny a hug from Zayn Malik? Louis shrugs, a blush creeping up the sides of his neck as he shuffled stepped tentatively into Zayn’s embrace. Zayn’s arms wrap securely around Louis’ waist, thin arms surprisingly strong as he holds Louis against him. Louis is relaxed and shocked all at the same time, arms wrapping around Zayn’s neck. He has to lean on his the tips of his toes a little to hug him properly, and usually he’ll complain about that, but right now, it was pretty much perfect. Zayn rubs his back, rocking them left and right slightly. Louis can’t help but smile at the feeling, nose burying into the side of his neck.

“You smell like strawberries.” Louis says in his head. However, when he feels the rumble of Zayn’s laugh against his chest, he realizes that he might’ve said it out loud. _Shit_. Zayn squeezes Louis one last time before pulling away, much to Louis’ disappointment.

Zayn is just a pink cheeked as Louis is when he pulls away, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. They both look away once their eyes meet, Louis erupting into a nervous laughter.

“What the hell just happened there?” Niall asks, looking between the both of them. Zayn immediately looks over to Louis.

“I-I just embarrassed myself big time, didn’t I?” Louis groans lowly, rubbing a hand over his face. Zayn laughs again, nose scrunching up as he does so. He nods his head softly, giving Louis a pleasant smile.

“No, it was actually quite cute,” Zayn comments, crossing his arms over his chest, “The greatest compliment I’ve ever been given.” Louis snorts, rolling his eyes as he tries to make his pounding heart calm down.

Zayn Malik called him cute (or did he?).

Zayn Malik thinks he’s cute. Louis is going to cherish that thought for as long as he can.

“Oh piss off, let’s get this meet and greet over with.” Louis mumbles bitterly. Liam and Niall laugh in unison while Zayn just nods in agreement.

The rest of the meet and greet is a blur of photos, autographs, Youtube videos, laughing, and Louis being more flustered than he’s ever been in his life.

“Your time is up, lads,” A bodyguard says, poking his head through the door. The four boys all groan in unison, Niall pausing the fourth Youtube video they’d been watching for the last ten minutes. Zayn gets up from the couch, smiling lazily at all three of them.

“It was a pleasure meeting all of you. It was a great laugh,” Zayn says. He leans into to hugs each of the boys, giving them all friendly pats on the back. Louis nearly feels like crying when he sees Zayn walking towards the door. Niall puts his arms around Liam and Louis, bringing them close to his sides.

“It was nice meeting you too! It was great spending time with you!” Niall calls to him. Zayn looks over his shoulder smiling until his eyes squint.

“I hope you lot enjoy the show, I’ll see you around sometime, hopefully,” Zayn calls, and with a final wave, he’s gone.

||+||

 

 **@ohnolewis:**  
**@zaynmalikmusic** _you absolutely KILLED IT tonite!!! great show :)_

 **@ohnoneil:**  
**@zaynmalikmusic** _great show lad! You’re so talented! It was nice meeting ya too :-)_

 **@big_payno93:**  
**@zaynmalikmusic** _wicked concert! One of the best nights of my life!_

Louis flops down on the bed next to Niall, a dopey smile forming on his face. Niall snorts when he sees him, “Satisfied?”

Louis hums in content, closing his eyes as he nods, “Very.” Liam snorts once he’s in the room, closing the door behind him. He joins the two other boys on the bed, half hanging off the edge as he sits next to Niall. He puts an arm around him, pulling him in close.

“Would you look at him? The poor thing is tired out.” Liam coos dramatically, leaning his head on Niall’s.

Niall laughs sharply at that, sighing, “What a son we raised,” He comments, “We’ve done a fantastic job.”

Louis opens an eye, looking at the two of them, “I can still hear you guys, assholes,” He goes to say something else, when his phone buzzes. He sits up, tugging his phone out of the pocket of his too tight jeans. When he looks at the notification, he almost passes out, “Oh my god.” Niall perks up at the words, leaning over to look at Louis’ screen.

“What’s the matter?” Niall asks, leaning in to look at Louis’ phone. Louis quickly jumps up from the bed, feet immediately carrying him up and down the length of the room.

“Holy shit,” Louis murmurs under his breath, tapping quickly on his phone screen, “Oh my _god_.”

“What is it, Lou?” Liam asks, eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Louis stops, a manic smile forming on his lips as he walks over to the bed.

“Guess who just followed me on Twitter?” Louis says, containing the nuclear meltdown that’s happening inside of him. He turns his screen to face them, trying to keep his arm still as he jumps from foot to foot.

**Zayn (@zaynmalikmusic) is now following you on Twitter!**

“Holy fuck,” Niall comments, snatching Louis’ phone from his hand, “Is this real?” Liam looks in, eyes growing wide as a smile forms on his face.

“It’s his account, I checked three times,” Louis says in reply, “It’s legit, Ni. Zayn Malik followed me on Twitter,” Louis says, shaking his head in disbelief. He plops down on the bed next to his two best friends, chin leaning on Niall’s shoulder. “Is this a dream? Did I die somehow? Is this heaven-”

“Dude, he just tweeted you,” Niall says suddenly, cutting Louis off. Louis goes wide eyed, taking his phone from Niall.

 **@zaynmalikmusic:**  
**@ohnolewis @ohnoneil @big_payno93** _glad you enjoyed the concert boys! it was great meeting you too! drinks next time? ;)x_

“Hey, he followed me too!” Liam yells, bouncing on the bed beside them. Niall is next to pull out his phone, whooping when he sees that he also got a follow from Zayn.

“H-He wants to hang out again! He wants us to be his friends, boys!” Niall yells, wrapping his arms around Louis and Liam. Louis his still stunned, eyes glued to the screen of his phone.

“You alright, Lou?” Liam comments, reaching over to pat Louis on the shoulder. Louis snaps out of his trance, giving Liam an easy smile.

“I’m having the best day of my life,” Lous replies back, grinning from ear to ear. His head snaps forward when he hears the familiar ring of his phone.

 **Zayn (@zaynmalikmusic) sent you a direct message!**  
_Hey! Are you up? It’s kind of late (sorry)._

Louis’ jaw goes slack when he sees the message. “Zayn just messaged me,” Louis says after a few short seconds, “He messaged _me_.”

Niall’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, his grin widening, “Wow, he must’ve really taken a liking to you.” He comments smugly. Louis freezes at the statement, cheeks reddening subtly.

“What makes you say that?”

Liam shrugs, leaning against Niall, “Well he did follow you first…” Liam starts out, laughing when Louis rolls his eyes, “And he was giving you major heart eyes during the meet and greet.” He adds. Louis’ phone nearly slips out of his hands, eyes growing wide.

“He was not,” Louis scoffs, “He was just being nice,”

Niall hums, wiggling an eyebrow at Louis, “He was being nice to us, but he was being especially nice to you.” Niall adds. Louis gives them both incredulous looks, shaking his head as he looks down at his phone, tapping out a quick reply.

 **Louis:**  
_Hey! yea I’m up, I’m a bit of a night owl anyway :-)_

“You guys are crazy, there’s no possible way that he wants to be anything more than friends.” Louis says, trying to convince them as well as himself.

There was no way, even if he was into guys (which – he’s not) ; there was no possible way that Zayn would want him. People like Zayn usually don’t date people like Louis.

“I can’t wait until we’re at your wedding and I get to hear you say ‘You were right.’” Niall laughs, patting Louis on the shoulder. Louis blushes, standing up from the bed to relocate to his own across the room.

“Nothing’s going to happen between us,” Louis argues one last time, smiling when he feels his phone vibrate in his hand.

 **Zayn:**  
_Nice! Up for a chat?_

||+||

“I think Louis’ dead.” Liam whispers, “No one’s body should be positioned like that.” Niall shakes his head, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Maybe he was possessed by the devil,” Niall suggests. Louis groans after a few seconds, feeling like he’d been trampled by a herd of elephants. His back cracks in four different places when he tries to move, body feeling absolutely trashed.

“I feel like I’m dead,” Louis croaks, opening an eye steadily. He’s blinded by the white walls of their hotel room reflecting the morning sun, “Shit.” Liam sits on the edge of the bed, placing a tender hand on Louis’ shoulder.

“You alright, Lou?” Liam asks, pouting in concern. Louis shrugs his shoulders, yawning as he attempts to pull himself up into a seated position.

“You look like shit,” Niall adds, sitting cross-legged on his bed. Louis glares at him, but he’s too tired to put any real energy into it.

“Are you like sick or something?” Liam asks, putting the back of his hand on Louis’ forehead. Louis flinches at the touch, swatting Liam’s hand away.

“Always the Mother Goose, you are,” Louis croaks, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m fine,” Louis adds, “I just stayed up a bit late.”

“A bit?” Niall asks, snorting after, “Louis, we can put our groceries in the bags under your eyes.” Liam hides his smirk behind a closed fist and honestly Louis wanted to punch both of them.

“Shut it, Ni,” Louis settles for, leaning his back against the headboard of the bed, “I feel like shit and it’s Zayn Malik’s fault.”

Niall raises an eyebrow at that, “Did you stay up all night talking to him?” He asks, disbelieving. Louis shrugs, a sheepish look forming on his face.

“Maybe,” Louis replies softly, cheeks going pink. He cringes when Niall woops in excitement.

“So it’s settled then, Zayn Malik has a crush on you,” Niall concludes, flopping onto Louis’ bed. Liam nods in agreement and Louis can only groan, rubbing his temples.

“Fuck, you guys are giving me a headache,” Louis complains, “And Zayn doesn’t have a crush on me, I can’t help it that I’m amazing to talk to.” Niall snorts while Liam rolls his eyes.

“You keep telling yourself that, Lou,” Niall says under his breath, burying his face into Louis’ sheets. Louis grabs a pillow and hits Niall over the head with it.

“Twat,” Louis says in reply, jumping when he feels his phone vibrate.

 **Zayn:**  
_Morning! How’d you sleep? :)x_

“How does your phone still have any charge left?” Niall comments, leaning over to see the message. Louis elbows Niall in the chin, pressing his phone to his chest.

“Shouldn’t you be packing? They’re going to kick us out at noon.” Louis scoffs, looking down at his screen.

 **Louis:**  
_I feel like death but I am in high spirits! You?_

Niall gets up from the bed, slapping Louis on the head as he goes. “So should you; you have the most stuff out of all of us.” Liam comments, getting up from the bed to go into the bathroom.

“So when do you guys go on your first date?” Niall asks, crossing his arms over his chest. Louis rolls his eyes, combing a hand through his hair.

“I could ask the same to you,” Louis retorts, looking between the bathroom door and Niall.

“I’m working on it.” Niall says in a hushed tone, pink cheeks going a shade darker.

 **Zayn:**  
_I feel alright! I thought you said you were a night owl? Keep up tommo ;)_

Louis smile down at his screen, typing out a quick reply.

 **Louis:**  
_Don’t tease me! I’m cranky and starving :((((((_

“Louis’ smiling down at his phone!” Niall yells to Liam through the door. Liam laughs, opening the door and poking his head out.

“Get married already!”

This was going to be a long drive back home.

||+||

“It’s not a date,” Louis hisses. Niall raises an eyebrow at him, snorting.

“But it is, though; you just don’t know it.” Niall replies, throwing an arm around Louis. Louis shrugs off the arm, zipping up his hoodie. He glares at Niall, turning to fix his hair in the mirror, “See? You’re dolling yourself up before he gets over here!” Niall tries to explain.

“It’s not a date!” Louis shouts, rubbing a hand down his face, “He just wanted to hang out with me, okay?” He puts his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, ignoring the blush creeping up the sides of his neck.

Zayn had managed to talk to him every single day since they met in LA – Louis is still trying to figure out _how_ that exactly happened. Louis smiles to himself, pulling out his phone almost instinctively. They had planned to meet up tonight after a week of nonstop texting. Zayn had a few days off on tour and Louis had been the first person he told. Louis tries not to read too deeply into that.

Louis hears a knock on the door and his heart immediately drops into his stomach. He turns towards the door, but Niall beats him to it.

“Hey!” Liam greets, walking past Niall into the apartment, “Who wants Chinese?” He asks, holding up a bag of food. Niall snatches it from his hands before he can say another word.

“Louis’ not staying, he’s got a date with Zayn,” Niall says over his shoulder, getting out plates from the cabinet and setting them down on the table. Liam turns towards Louis, eyebrows raised.

“It’s not a fucking date, he just wanted to hang out.” Louis groans, flinching when he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket.

 **Zayn** :  
_On my way up x_

“What are you guys going to do?” Liam asks, smiling as he turns his attention to Niall who is currently filling his plate with food, “Jesus, Ni, save some for us.”

Niall gives him a nasty look, eating a fork full of pork fried rice, “I’m a growing boy, Li.”

“You’re twenty-two,” Liam replies, shaking his head with fondness.

 **Louis:**  
_Nice! Did you bring a black hoodie?_

There’s a knock on the door, and Louis is luckily the first one to get to it. Louis smiles when he sees Zayn, leaning against the door frame.

“Hey,” He said, giving Louis a soft look. He reaches forward, pulling Louis into a hug and Louis nearly melts into the embrace.

Louis pulls away, ignoring the way his heart beats against chest at the way that Zayn looks at him. _This is not a date._

Zayn lifts up his arm, showing Louis his jacket, “I got the black hoodie, why do I need it?” Louis gives him a sly smile, eyes lighting up with mischief. Zayn gives him a suspicious look, hands digging into his pockets.

“Well, let’s just say that what we’re about to do isn’t exactly...legal.” Louis states, stepping out into the hallway. Once Louis closes the door, he can hear Liam and Niall laughing obnoxiously loud and Louis can feel how red his cheeks might me.

“I don’t like the sound of that, Lou,” Zayn comments, following behind Louis. Louis ignores how the nickname makes him feel weightless. Louis stops when he hears Zayn stop a few steps behind him. Zayn looks unsure, running his fingers through his hair. Louis feels momentarily bad, a pout forming on his lips.

“We’re not going to get in trouble – promise.” Louis states, raising an eyebrow. Zayn still looks uncertain and Louis has to eventually grab Zayn’s hand to pull him toward the stairs. Zayn whines behind him and it puts a smile on Louis’ face. And if Zayn grabs on to his hand tighter, well, Louis can fester over what that means later.

\--

“Welp, we’re here,” Louis says with a huff, dropping Zayn’s hand.

They had been walking through the streets of Potrero Hill for twenty minutes now, both boys on edge as the walked further from the lights of the city into the nearly pitch black streets of the suburbs. Halfway through, Zayn insisted that they hold hands, trying to reason that one of them ‘may get lost along the way’ and Louis went along with it, choosing to not read too far into it as his heart began to beat against his chest. He would take any opportunity to get to hold Zayn Malik’s hand.

They had arrived at an abandoned house. The house was sitting at the very end of a long, winding road. It was enclosed from all sides by a tall, iron fence. The house itself was dreary and worn down, pieces of its shingles lying in the front lawn, the stairs leading to the front door looking one breath away from total decay. The house had an eery feeling that radiated off of it, pouring through the holes in the fence and onto the street in front of it. Zayn gave Louis an incredulous look.

“We’re going in there?” Zayn asks, disbelieving. Louis nods enthusiastically, leaning against the rusted fence.

“Yea! Isn’t she a beauty?” Louis asks, looking back at it. In the moonlight, the house almost looked like a ghost itself, the historic windows reflecting the shine of moonlight. “It’s one of the only historic houses left in Potrero Hill.”

Louis doesn’t wait for Zayn to reply as he puts on his hood. He raises his hands high up on the fence, pulling himself up until he can get a footing in one of the holes of the fence. He swings his leg over the top, gaining footing on the other side before dropping down to the ground. He smiles deviously at Zayn, raising an eyebrow, “You coming?”

“I am _not_ going in there, Louis,” Zayn groans, trying to keep a smile off of his face. Louis pouts at him, the moonlight making his eyes seems five times lighter than they actually were.

“C’mon, Popstar! Where’s your sense of adventure?” Louis asks, crossing his arms over his chest. Zayn gives him a final sigh before shrugging, looking up at the fence.

“Is there another way in?”

“Nah, the lock on the gate is rusted to hell,” Louis says, shaking his head, “The only way in is up.” Zayn laughs humorlessly to himself before grabbing onto the fence and hoping over it as Louis did. Once he drops to the ground, Louis pats him on the back, giving him a gleeful look.

“Do you trespass often?” Zayn asks, following Louis as they walk up the path leading towards the house. The house is even creepier up close, the broken windows and the abandoned toys scattered across the lawn and the near dead silence around them gives the place a vibe of _you’re going to die here._

Louis shrugs, looking at him over his shoulder. They’re almost to the porch when Louis makes a turn, walking around the front into the backyard.

“I wouldn’t call it _trespassing_ , it’s more like visiting – without permission.” Louis concludes, stopping when they get to the backyard. The backyard is pretty much the same as the front yard; broken down and creepy as hell. Louis points down to a window near the ground. “We have to go through there to get inside.

“Y’know, when I asked you to hang out, I thought we could, like, go out to a movie or something,” Zayn comments off handedly, looking wearily at the window. Louis snorts, rolling his eyes.

“When you asked me to hang out, was it supposed to be a date?” Louis asks, teasing, though he  
could feel his heartbeat speeding up at the idea. Zayn goes red in the face, hands coming up to rub the blush off his cheeks. Louis turns away from him with a smile, crouching down. “C’mon, don’t be a baby.” Louis says behind him, pushing his legs through the window. He turns just before he drops through, “Oh, I recommend coming through here feet first, there’s broken glass on the floor in here.” He drops through without another word, land on his feet. He takes out his phone, turning on the flashlight as he looks at Zayn from the window.

“You’re fucking crazy,” Zayn huffs, dropping down to the ground, he sticks his legs through the window and slides his way in. He loses his balance, tripping over a broken piece of wood. He nearly falls face first onto the dirt floor of the basement, Louis catching him by his shoulders at the last second.

Louis gives him a soft look, pushing him so he’s flat on his feet, “See? I’ve got you. Nothing’s going to happen to us.” Zayn just nods wordlessly, sorting out his hoodie and putting his hands in his pockets. Louis turns, shining the flashlight toward the rest of the room.

The basement of the house was nothing really to get excited over. It was a small, damp room with only a few windows towards the right side. There basement was almost completely bare aside from a few stray boxes, most of which had been decayed by years of exposure. There was one single light in the entire basement, but the bulb inside had been broken.

Louis notices how Zayn stays relatively close to him, his presence always close enough to sense but far enough to not touch. Louis wanders over to the main stairs leading up to the first floor. He stops at the first step, looking over his shoulder, “I recommend stepping on the sides of the stairs, the middles of them are about to break.” Zayn nods curtly, rolling his eyes. He follows Louis up the stairs, making sure to not step on the center of the stairs.

“I am never going out with you ever again.” Zayn huffs once they get to the top of the stairs. Louis shines his light on him and laughs, a sly smile on his lips.

“Oh please, you’d miss me too much.” Louis states matter-of-factly, wiggling an eyebrow at Zayn. Zayn rolls his eyes in return.

“Arsehole,” Zayn mutters, with no real heat behind it. Louis looks around the room, raising his flashlight from his side. He scans the room, making sure that Zayn can see the room and all it really has to offer.

The room is nearly empty, aside from a broken rocking chair, a dusty, worn loveseat, and an old wooden cabinet. Louis turns to Zayn, wiggling an eyebrow.

“So, what do you think?” He asks, moving farther into the room. He spins in an aimless circle, eyeing Zayn once he stops. Zayn is still at the edge of the stairs, hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. He shrugs, walking hesitantly towards the center of the room. It was nearly pitch black dark in the room, but from what he could make out from the light of Louis’ flashlight, it wasn’t too bad. The inside was is definitely in better condition than the outside. The floors were covered in a layer of dust; the walls covered in a flower patterned wallpaper that was peeling off from a few different places.

“It’s ‘lright.” Zayn comments softly, looking around.

“Wait until you see the next floor,” Louis replies, grabbing onto Zayn’s wrist without another word. He drags him to a second flight of stairs, letting go once they start going up. Louis stands on the top stair, waiting for Zayn to come the rest of the way up. Once he’s there, he turns his flashlight so it face the long stretch of hallway in front of them.

“I don’t like the look of that, Lou,” Zayn warns, huffing under his breath. Louis bumps into his side playfully, winking.

“It’s not as bad as it looks, Zee, I promise.” Louis says, confident in his answer. There’s a loud bang that comes from the room at the very end of the hallway, making both boys jump in surprise.

“What the fuck was that?” Zayn asks, panicked. Louis is a little surprised himself, shaking his head as he takes a tentative step down the hall. Zayn grabs on to his arm, stopping him from moving any farther. “What the hell are you doing? You do know that’s how people die in horror films, right?”

Louis rolls his eyes, a small smile forming on his lips. “It’s probably nothing.” He says softly, though his expression doesn’t quite match his words.

“That’s also a thing people say right before they’re about to die.” Zayn comments, raising an eyebrow at Louis.

“Look, stay here, I’ll go and check it out.” Louis says, pulling away from Zayn’s grip on his arm. He looks down the hallway, flashlight raised.

“You’re not leaving me here!” Zayn whispers harshly, following after Louis. Louis blushes profusely when he feels Zayn’s hand on the side of his hip, pulling them closer together as the venture down the hallway.

They reach the room in question at the end of the hall, door ajar. The two boys look at each other, a silent question passing between the two.

“On the count of three, we both go in, alright?” Louis asks, holding onto Zayn’s hand. His heart nearly stops in his chest when he feels Zayn’s fingers interlock with his. The boys count in unison, Louis being the first to step into the room with Zayn in tow.

Louis shines his light throughout out the room, scanning from wall to wall. He turns to Zayn suddenly, laughing when Zayn jumps. Zayn glares at him, crossing his arm over his chest.

“You’re not funny.” Zayn huffs under his breath, kicking a stray piece of wood away from him.

“I’m hilarious, actually,” Louis replies, winking at Zayn. Louis’ flashlight flickers off after he says it. “Shit.”

“What happened?” Zayn asks, putting his hands out in front of him. The room is completely dark without the light, and Zayn can’t see anything and that makes panic start to set in.

“I think my phone died.” Louis whispers back, voice sounding far off. Zay hears most rustling, floorboard creaking.

“Louis, I hope that’s you moving over there.” Zayn warns, heart beating against his chest. It’s completely silent once he says it, his breathing the only thing he can hear.

“I’m not moving, Zayn,” Louis whispers softly, breathing heavy.

“Then what the hell was -” There’s most movement in the room, this time it sounds like it’s coming from right behind him.

“Y’know, this place is supposedly haunted.” Louis calls, floorboards creaking as he moves. Zayn feels around for his phone, breathing a sigh of relief when he feels it in the back pocket of his jeans.

“You tell me this after we’re already in the house?” Zayn huffs, turning on the flashlight on his phone. He squints his eyes, adjusting to the light before raising it to scan the room. He doesn’t see Louis right away and that confuses him, but once he looks towards the door they entered through, Louis jumps out at him.

Louis cackles madly at the way Zayn yelps, a nasty glare forming on his face.

“You’re awful. Absolutely awful.” Zayn groans, wiping a hand down his face. Louis wipes at his eyes, grinning happily.

“You love it though.” Louis replies easily, wiggling an eyebrow. “What time is it?”

“Almost ten, why?”

Louis grabs onto his hand, pulling him towards the door, “There’s one more place I need to show you.” Zayn groans, closing the door behind them as they make their way back down the hall.

“It better be a bar, because I need a drink after going through that.” Zayn comments.

“Oh, this is going to be better than a bar, trust me.”

||+||

 

“Lou, in what world is a park better than a bar?” Zayn complains, trudging behind Louis. Louis rolls his eyes, pushing down the hood of his jacket.

After they hopped back over the fence of the house, they walked another fifteen minutes to a local park. At night, the park seemed to give off a calming feeling, which was a polar opposite of the abandoned house. The park gave off a soft glow due to a few street lamps illuminating it. Louis walks towards a bench on the other side of the park, past a merry-go-round, a few see-saws, and a slide. Louis sits down on the bench, moving over to make room for Zayn. He turns to him, a wolfish grin on his lips. He reaches under the bench, cringing when he touches a piece of chewed gum. His eyes light up once he feels a familiar plastic bag.

“Because, my dear Zayn, bars don’t have this.” He huffs, showing the plastic bag to Zayn. Zayn looks into the bag and raises his eyebrows, a disbelieving smirk forming on his lips.

“Is that what I think it is?” Zayn asks, reaching out for the bag. Louis pulls it out of Zayn’s reach, nodding his head.

“Well, this isn’t a bag of oregano,” Louis replies, shrugging.

“So, you’re telling me that you hid a bag of weed in a place where kids frequently play?” Zayn asks, snatching the bag from Louis.

“This place is really fun when you’re stoned.” Louis tries to justify, shrugging his shoulders again. The soft look that forms in Zayn’s eyes has something warm spreading throughout Louis’ body. This boy will be the death of him.

He takes the bag from Zayn’s grasp, jumping up and running towards the slide. He hears Zayn yell for him as he follows close behind. He climbs up the ladder leading to the top, settling on the floor of the structure up top. He waits until Zayn is settled next to him before he opens the bag, taking out a few roller papers.

Once the joint is made, Louis hands it over to Zayn along with a lighter, “Would you do the honors?” Zayn smiles slyly at Louis, putting the joint to his lips. He lights the other end, inhaling the smoke. He passes it Louis after a few seconds, closing his eyes before exhaling.

Louis watches him at the corner of his eye, watching the way his veins in his neck protruded and his jaw tenses. Louis shakes himself out of the trance, heat rising to his cheeks as he takes a hit from the joint. He passes it back to Zayn once he exhales, laying down flat on the floor. He stares up at the clear night sky, watching a few twinkling stars. He spaces out for a few seconds, the weed making everything seem far away and slow. He snaps out of it when he feels Zayn settle next to him, bumping his shoulder as he passes the joint back to him.

“What’s the real reason why One Direction split up?” The question is out of his mouth before he can stop himself. His brain faintly registers it as a slightly intrusive question, but he just sighs, taking another hit from the joint.

Zayn shrugs softly, eyes fixated on the sky, “Like I told everyone else – Harry and I just wanted different things when it came to music.” Zayn answers, voice low and languid. Louis gulps at the answer, handing the joint off to Zayn again.

“Did you and Harry have a fight or something?” Louis asks, eyelids feeling heavier than they were a second ago.

Zayn snorts, scrunching up his nose (and that totally did not make Louis’ heart flutter, it absolutely didn’t) as he thinks, “No, nothing like that happened. I kind of knew what I always wanted to do, but, I was never able to do it. So I left.” Zayn comments off-handedly. He brushes his fingers through his hair, joint between his fingers as he inhales, “Harry is still my best mate though.” He adds as he exhales.

“Were you and Harry ever, like...together?” Louis asks tentatively, heart pounding against his chest. Zayn turns his head towards Louis, blinking wordlessly. For a minute, Louis panics, asking himself _why would you ask him that? he is clearly straight -_

“Nah, we were only messing around; it wasn’t anything too serious.” Zayn replies, an apologetic smile forming on his face. Louis doesn’t think he’s come so close to death than right now. His world shatters and then reforms again only to break apart in the span of five seconds. Zayn Malik is not straight. Zayn Malik is not _straight_.

Louis feels suddenly shy, cheeks heated as he turns his head to look up at the sky. He takes the joint once it’s handed back to him, taking a final hit before he tosses the butt over the side of the slide. They sit in a comfortable silence, the buzz in their systems slowly fading out. Louis turns to Zayn after a few minutes, biting his lip.

“So you two never...dated?” Louis asks, avoiding Zayn’s eyes. Zayn hums as he thinks, eyes slitted as he replies.

“Well, we tried to for a while, but it just didn’t work out.” Zayn replies slowly, “We work too well as friends I suppose.”

Louis’ brain has a hard time processing this information, his mind still hazy from the weed and the light feeling Louis seems to get when he’s around Zayn now.  
He didn’t know if he should be happy or terrified.

Zayn seems to notice his slient meltdown, his hand sliding over to brush against the back of Louis’. “Are you alright, love?” He asks in a soft tone. Louis jerks at the question, nodding his head to quickly to be genuine.

“Yep! Everything is fine,” Louis mumbles, sitting up abruptly. He has to hold his head in his hands, the world spinning every time he opened his eyes. He feels a tentative hand on his lower back, rubbing small, soothing circles there.

“You don’t seem fine,” Zayn comments softly, scooting closer to Louis. When he settles, his leg is pressing into Louis’ and everywhere he touches, Louis feels like he’s burning alive. Louis raises his head out of his hands, looking at the night sky as he catches his breath. He inhales deeply through his nose and exhales through his mouth. He turns his head towards Zayn, offering him a shy smile.

“It was probably the weed or something,” He comments softly, raising his knees up to his chest. He crosses his arms onto of his knees, placing his chin on his folded arms. Zayn snorts lightly, looking up at the sky.

“You – You didn’t have to tell me all of that,” Louis says after a few minutes of sitting in silence, “I shouldn’t have even asked -”

“-it’s fine,” Zayn interjects, giving Louis a small smile, “I didn’t mind telling you.” Louis tries to ignore the way the words made him feel.

“Aren’t you, like, scared I’ll go to the press or something?” Louis asks, a pout forming on his lips. Zayn shrugs his shoulders, shaking his head.

“I feel like I can trust you,” Zayn shrugs, playing with the end of his hoodie string. Louis raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

“You’ve only known me for a week.” Louis replies, thanking whatever god out there that it was dark and Zayn couldn’t see how red his cheeks were.

Zayn shrugs again, blinking drowsily at Louis, “I don’t know, there’s just something about you, I guess,” He states, scratching the side of his nose.

Louis was so gone for this boy already.

||+||

They eventually leave the park, both of them going down the slide (twice) before they did. Zayn is a warm presence beside him as they walk back to Louis’ apartment building, shoulder brushing against his ever so often. Louis feels light and calm when he’s around Zayn; it surprises him how quickly he’s gotten comfortable with Zayn.

Once they’re in front of Louis’ door (Zayn insisting that he walk him up to his door for ‘safety precautios') and Louis is seconds away from opening his door, Zayn speaks up.

“So, I’m going to be in the city until Saturday, you should come, uh, hang out with me at my hotel tomorrow?” Zayn asked, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, “I have a recording session in the afternoon, but I should be free around seven if you want to come?” Zayn looks so earnest and open and it makes Louis’ head spin. He blushes, leaning against his door.

“I-I have work until nine tomorrow, but I can come over after?” Louis suggests, rubbing his hand on his shoulder. Zayn smiles brilliantly, hazel eyes a light caramel color.

“Yeah! That sounds good,” Zayn says, rocking on the balls of his feet, “I can send a car to come and pick you from here around ten?” Louis smiles, nodding wordlessly.

“Alright, it’s a date,” Louis says, panicking when he realizes what just came out of his mouth, “I-I mean it’s not a date; i-it’s just -”

Zayn puts a hand on Louis’ shoulder, stopping him mid-sentence. “Okay - it’s not a date.” Zayn laughs softly, burying his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Louis nods curtly, feeling completely and thoroughly flustered. Zayn says a final goodbye before turning to walk to the elevator. Once Zayn is out of sight, Louis releases a breath that he didn’t know he was holding. He turns around, fishing his key out of his pocket. He enters the apartment, shutting the door softly behind him. He leans against the door, smiling to himself. He walks through the kitchen into the living room, rolling his eyes at what he sees. It’s completely dark, the only light coming from the television. Liam is starfished across the couch, head lulled back on the couch with Niall using his chest as a pillow.

Louis leans down, flicking Liam in the forehead. He startles, jumping awake. He settles once he sees Louis, rolling his eyes as he readjusts himself, making sure not to disturb Niall.

“Rude much?” Liam asks, voice rough with sleep. Louis shrugs, smiling knowingly at him.

“What’s this?” He asks, pointing between him and Niall. Liam shrugs sleepily, looking down at Niall. Niall is out cold,arms draped over Liam and nose pressing up against Liam’s throat.

“We were watching a movie and fell asleep,” Liam yawns, look back at Louis. “How was your date with Zayn?” Louis immediately frowns, leaning forward on his hands.

“It wasn’t a date!” Louis says again, huffing to himself. Liam raises his hands in defense, a playful smirk on his mouth. His brow furrows when he looks at Louis.

“Your eyes are red, were you crying or something?” Liam asks, reaching up to touch Louis’ face. Louis slaps the hand away, shrugging.

“No. We went to Greenwood park and -”

“Did you smoke my weed?” Niall grumbles softly, shifting his position.

“It’s our weed, Niall,” Louis corrects him, “and yes I did.”

“But who paid for it though?” Niall comments again, sitting up slowly. He looks pissed and tired, rubbing at his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter who paid for it, _Neil,_ ” Louis sighs, rolling his eyes, “We’re roommates - we have to share. Sharing is caring.” Niall yawns into his fist, getting up from the couch.

“Fucking arsehole,” Niall comments under his breath, accent thick and incomprehensible. He grabs his blanket from the couch, dragging his feet as he leaves the living room. “Liam, you’re my favorite now.” He calls just as he walks down the hall into his room.

“He’s always been your favorite!” Louis calls back, throwing his hands in the air.

“It’s a good thing too!” Niall shouts from his room. Liam yawns again, shifting over on the couch to make room for Louis. He pats the seat beside him, smiling.

“So, how did it go?” Liam asks softly, raising an eyebrow at Louis. Louis falls onto the couch, head resting on Liam’s thigh. He looks up at Liam, shrugging.

“I’m so fucked, Liam,” Louis whines, putting a hand over his eyes, “He’s perfect.” Liam coos at him, running his fingers through Louis’ fringe.

“That bad, huh?” Liam asks, sighing.

“He wants me to come to his hotel tomorrow.” Louis groans.

“That’s good, right?” Liam asks, playing with more of Louis’ hair.

“Yea, I guess,” Louis mumbles, looking up at Liam. Liam offers him a reassuring smile.

“You’ll figure everything out, I know it.”

Louis sure as hell hoped so.

||+||

Louis is a mess of nerves once he gets to the hotel. His palms are sweaty and he can feel himself lightly shaking. The nerves he felt before he met Zayn the first time have come back in full swing.

He might pass out.

He’s ushered out of the car, into an underground parking lot of the hotel. There is a total of four security guards, two of which Louis remembered from the meet and greet. They walk him to a small service elevator, punching in a code once they all file in. Louis is sandwiched between two of them, panicking when he realizes how close they are together. At one point, Louis is sure that the security guard in front of him can hear his heart beating against his chest.

When they get to the right floor, Louis is led up a narrow flight of stairs that led into a huge suite.

“There you are,” Zayn says, walking around the corner towards the door. Louis is too distracted to respond, eyes fixated on how spacious the room was. There was a giant gold chandelier hanging in the center of the room, surrounded by small ceiling fixtures. The walls were a light shade of pink and white with floral details etched into them.

“Nice room,” is the only comment Louis can come up with, giving Zayn a small smile. Zayn laughs, eyes squinting as he wraps his arms around Louis, bringing him close to his chest. He smells like lavender and sunshine and Louis is carried away with the smell. Louis hugs him back after a few short seconds, arms wrapping around Zayn’s middle. It’s then that Louis realizes that Zayn is a few inches taller than him.

Zayn pulls away first, grabbing onto Louis’ hand wordlessly as he drags him around the corner. There is another room around the corner, it was a dining room with a long, elegantly dressed table.

“I didn’t know if you’d be hungry or not when you got here, so I ordered room service just in case,” Zan explained, looking quite bashful. There were two plates of chicken parmesan place on the table, both next to each other on the right end of the table. This feels like a date.

Louis flits his eyes between Zayn and the table, his heart rate picking up again.

“I’m actually starving, thank you.” Louis says softly, wanders to the other side of the table. When he sits down, Zayn sits in the seat next to his.

This feels like a date and Louis has yet to decide if he’s okay with it or not.

Louis shakes the feeling off, enjoying his meal with Zayn right next to him They chat casually, both not really saying anything until they’re both finished. Louis leans back in his chair, raising his arms over his head as he stretches.

“Thanks for dinner,” He yawns, putting his hands in his lap, “It was great.” Zayn nods in reply, getting up from the table.

“Come outside with me, there’s something I have to show you.” Zayn already walking out of the room. Louis has to jump up, walking hastily to catch up with Zayn. Louis stops in his tracks when he sees the next room beyond the dining room. It was a enormous bedroom, almost the same size as the living room. It had silky drapes hanging in front of the tall ceiling-to-floor windows on one side of the room. On the other, there was a king sized bed, its covers matching the scheme of the entire suit itself. Zayn is waiting by entrance to what seems to be a terrace, raising an eyebrow. “Are you coming?”

Louis nods quickly, quickly meeting Zayn on the other side of the room. They walk out onto the terrace, Louis rubbing his arms at the slight breeze that passes by. On the terrace, Louis can see the twinkling lights of San Francisco; cable cars still running in the distant, the crowds on the street slowly dying out. He walks all the way to the edge, leaning against the guardrail as he crosses his arms over his chest. He looks up at the sky, frowning when he doesn’t see as many stars as the night before. Zayn joins him silently, arm rubbing against his own. Zayn pushes hair hair out of his eyes, rubbing his fingers against the freshly buzzed side of his head.

“You never really told me your story,” Zayn asks out of the blue, casting Louis a sideward glance. Louis furrows his brow, shrugging his shoulders.

“There’s not much to tell,” Louis replies, “What do you want to know?”

Zayn shrugs his shoulders, turning so he faced Louis’ side, forearm rest against the rail, “You said you were in school, what are you studying?”

“I’m majoring in secondary education and minoring in drama,” Louis replies, smiling sadly, “I want to be a drama teacher.” Zayn is confused by the answer, tilting his head.

“You don’t seem too happy about it,” Zayn states, “Is that not what you really want to do?”

Louis rubs a hand on the back of his neck, it was a sore subject and Louis just hoped he wouldn’t burst into tears talking about it.

“Not really; my parents want me to go into teaching. If it were up to me, I’d be an actor.” Louis shrugs his shoulders.

“You do, you know. Have a choice, I mean,” Zayn murmurs, rubbing a hand on his shoulder, “It’s your future, not theirs.” Louis snorts bitterly, reaching into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes. He puts one to his lips, lighting the end with a match. He inhales deeply, already feeling the nicotine calming his nerves down. He exhales slowly, closing his eyes as he did so.

“Yea, well, tell my parents that,” Louis mumbles around the butt of the cigarette, “Because they won’t listen to me anymore.” Zayn takes the cigarette from his mouth, putting it in his own as he turns to stare out at the city. He inhales the smoke, holding it in his mouth before exhaling, keeping the cigarette between two of his thin fingers.

“When do you graduate?” Zayn asks, looking over toward Louis.

“My senior year starts in August; graduation is in May.”

“You still have time to figure everything out,” Zayn stares, leaning away from the rail. He steps in front of Louis, finishing the last of the cigarette. He drops the butt on the ground, stomping it out with his boot. Louis pouts softly, a tender feeling forming in his chest.

“Rude,” Louis says softly, looking at the ground before looking back up at Zayn and – they’re a lot closer than they were a second ago.

Zayn’s fingertips skate across the delicate bones in Louis’ wrist, his hand reaching out to intertwine their fingers. He looks hesitant and vulnerable and Louis is starting to panic. He gives Zayn a suspicious look, fingers gripping tighter on his hand.

“Personally, I think you’d be an ace actor,” Zayn murmurs, pulling Louis into a standing position. Louis has approximately three seconds to figure what’s going on before he feels Zayn’s lips against his. He’s so stunned that his brain doesn’t even register the touch. Zayn’s hands settle on Louis’ hips, a gentle pressure as he connects his lips with Louis’. Louis’ heart feels like it can burst out of his chest once it happens, sighing until he remembers to kiss him back. The kiss is over as quick as it had started, Zayn being the first to pull away. He presses his forehead against Louis’, chuckling softly to himself.

“What are you doing to me?” He mumbles, kissing Louis’ forehead tenderly. Louis blushes profusely, fingers circling around the tattoos on Zayn’s arm.

“I could ask you the same.” Louis whispers back breathlessly, wondering what the hell he should got himself into.

||+||

Louis thinks that last night was a dream when he wakes up the next morning.

He wakes up groggy and not knowing where he was. He opens his eyes, groaning when he realizes he fell asleep on the couch. He rolls over, burying his face in the pillows on the couch. He’s about to fall back to sleep when he remembers what happened last night.

Zayn kissed him. Zayn Malik kissed _him._

“Fuck,” Louis hisses, sitting up slowly. He crosses his legs under him, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He can still feel the press of Zayn’s lips on his and it makes his heart want to leap from his chest.He stares up at the ceiling, wondering why this had to happen.

“You’re up early,” Louis jumps at the voice, looking for the source of it. Liam leans against the back of the couch, yawning into his fist. Louis huffs in relief, shrugging softly.

“What are you doing here? Did you even go home last night?” Louis asks, stretching his arms over his head. Liam looks uncomfortable, eyes switching between Louis and the hallway.

“Ni wanted me to stay over a little later so we could work on some things for school.” Liam shrugs, trying for casual but failing miserably. He rubs the back of his neck, looking down the hallway again. Louis furrows his brow when he sees a dark bruise peaking up from the collar of his shirt.

“It’s the middle of July,” Louis says suspiciously, narrowing his eyes, “And what’s that on your neck -”

“- It’s nothing!” Liam interrupts, covering the side of his neck with his hand, “I have to do field work, so does Niall.” He adds, standing up fully. He practically runs into the kitchen, pretending to prepare to cook something for breakfast. A wide smile forms on Louis’ face as he drags himself to his feet. He pads over to the kitchen, leaning against the doorway.

“Yea but, Niall doesn’t start his internship until October,” Louis starts out, folding his arms in front of his chest, “And you don’t start your apprenticeship until January.” Liam freezes at that, pan in hand. He turns to Louis, looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Fuck, why did I tell you that,” Liam whispers to himself, shoulders sagging once he puts the pan on the stove. He looks bashful, hands playing with the end of his shirt.

“You guys fucked, didn’t you?” Louis asks, cackling when he sees the horrified look on Liam’s face. Liam looks anywhere but at Louis for the longest time, deep in his thoughts.

“W-We didn’t sleep together,” Liam sighs after a second, rolling his eyes, “We just like...fooled around.” Louis jumps in his place, clapping his hands together. He walks over to Liam, pulling him into a hug.

“Fucking finally! I was starting to think it would never happen,” Louis mumbles against the fabric of Liam’s shirt, patting Liam on the back. “Well done.”

Liam looks thoroughly embarrassed once Louis pulls away, smiling shyly.

“So are you two going to date now?” Louis asks, already knowing what the answer was. Liam goes deeper shade of red (honestly Louis was starting to get worried for the poor boy), leaning against the counter.

“I-I don’t think he likes me like that? I mean -”

“ - Oh for fuck’s sake! It’s so obvious!” Louis nearly yells, startling Liam. “Liam, he likes you, okay? It’s been almost four fucking years, and you two _still_ have no idea that you’re in love with each other?”

Liam looks taken aback, opening and closing his mouth in hopes of finding something to say.

“Is it really that obvious that I like him?” Liam asks in a small voice.

“Yes, everyone has known since Freshman year,” Louis says, rolling his eyes, “You lit up like a Christmas tree whenever he walked into class; always followed him around like a lost puppy.”

“But he...doesn’t know?” Liam asks, scratching his shoulder. Louis throws his hands up, shaking his head.

“He’s denser than a log when it comes to love; always has been.” Louis sighs, “But I see the way he looks at you sometimes, he likes you back, Liam.”

Liam smiles at that, biting his lower lip, “Really?” He asks, looking hopeful.

“Yes, you two are gross together.” Louis groans, putting a hand on his shoulder, “disgustingly perfect together. Just make it official already.”

Liam goes to say something back, but is cut off by a knock on the door. Liam pouts, looking at his watch, “Who’s knocking so early?” He wonders, walking towards the door. Louis waits in the kitchen, confusion setting in when he sees Liam walk back into the kitchen. There was a bouquet of flowers in his hands and Louis has no idea why that is.

“These are for you,” Liam says, just as confused, handing over the bouquet of Calla lilies and Daisies to Louis. Louis sets them down on the counter, reaching for the white card stuck in the center of it.

 _I’m so sorry, I didn’t know the press were outside of the hotel._  
_\-- Z x_

“They’re from Zayn,” Louis says, puzzled, “He says he’s sorry.”

“About what? What happened last night?” Liam asks, grabbing the card from his hand. Louis’ heart begins to pump harder as he dashes into the living room, lifting up couch cusions until he finds his phone.

 **Zayn:**  
_The paps were outside of the hotel last night…_

 **Zayn:**  
_They have pictures of us together._

Louis has never felt like crying more. Panic sets in once he reads the message, he turns around to look for the remote to the TV. He sits back on the couch, flipping through channels until he gets to the one he’s looking for.

_“- As it turns out, R &B artist, Zayn Malik, may have a new love interest! And sorry ladies, it appears to be a guy!”_

“Louis, what’s going on?” Liam asks, sitting down the couch beside him.

_“the British Trailblazer was photographed getting quite cozy with an unknown male on the balcony of his hotel late Friday night.”_

“Oh shit,” Louis says under his breath, heart dropping into his shoes. He groans loudly when he sees a grainy photo of the two of them on the terrace mid kiss. Luckily, Louis’ back was turned away from the camera, his back and part of profile the only evidence that it was him. “Fuck.”

“It that, is that you?” Liam asks, disbelieving. Louis blushes, nodding his head.

“Yep,” He sighs, rubbing his forehead, “I’m on E! News because Zayn kissed me.”

_“While Zayn has yet to comment on his sexual preferences, this hasn’t been the first time Malik has been caught getting intimate with another man. In 2013, the then twenty year old was photographed locking lips with then fellow band member, Harry Styles. The then two members of the duo pop band, One Direction, were caught in an intimate moment outside of their hotel while on tour in Canada.”_

Louis mutes the TV after that, putting his head in his hands. Liam puts a gentle hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles there. The touch reminds him of Zayn and it makes him groan pitifully.

“Why did I have to have a crush on a popstar,” Louis mumbles, “And why did he have to like me back?”

“Well, that’s good, right?” Liam asks, pouting, “That he likes you back? You two would make a good couple.” Louis groans pitifully at that, leaning his head on Liam’s shoulder.

“But he shouldn’t like me back, Liam, that doesn’t happen in real life.” Louis pouting. Liam looks at Louis strangely, brow furrowing.

“Who’s to say that it can’t happen in real life? He’s a normal person, Lou. You like him and he likes you, what’s the problem?”

“People like that shouldn’t date people like me, Liam,” Louis huffs, brushing his fingers through his hair.

“People like..that?”

“Gorgeous, successful, talented, richer than someone could even imagine. Those types of people. He shouldn’t be interested in someone who’s _not_ that.” Louis concludes, sitting up. He gives Liam a sad look, shrugging his shoulders, “He’ll probably get bored of me eventually, it wouldn’t be worth it.” Liam raises his eyebrows, a surprised look forming on his face. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s true.”

“Louis, everything you said just now is fucking bullshit,” Liam huffs, “Like complete bullshit.” Louis is taken back by the bluntness, eyebrows raised.

“I thought you were the nice one,” Louis snorts, leaning against the couch. Liam shrugs the comment off, frowning at Louis.

“You can’t seriously think that you don’t have anything to offer him, right?” Liam asks, frowning even more when Louis shrugs, “Lou, you’re talented, intelligent, you always manage to me and Niall laugh, you’re caring, you’re kind, you’re always there for me and Niall, and Zayn would be insanely lucky to have someone like you in his life.”

Louis can’t do anything but blush once Liam’s done talking, hands placed in his lap, “I’m scared.” Louis whispers, “What if everything doesn’t work out?”

“Well, you’ll never know until you try.” Liam retorts, putting a hand on Louis’ shoulder. “I say go for it, but the choice is up to you.”

Louis was completely and utterly fucked.

||+||

Louis ignores Zayn's messages for the next week.

It's not that he’s scared, it's just that he’s -

okay, maybe he is a little scared. Of what? He doesn't really exactly know.

He shakes his head, trying to focus on the conversation at hand.

“Are you even listening?” Niall asks, waving a hand in front of his face. Louis slaps the hand away, picking up his fork and eating some of his food.

They were sitting in Liam’s favorite Chinese restaurant, celebrating his birthday early before Liam flies home for the rest of the summer to be with his family.

“Yeah, of course,” Louis replies through a mouthful of wanton. Niall wrinkles his nose, turning back to Liam and pouting.

“Why do you always go back so early?” Niall whines, grabbing on to Liam’s hand. Liam response almost instinctively, thumb rubbing against his hand.

“I just want to spend as much time as possible with my family, babe,” Liam sighs, “But you know I’m coming right back, you won’t even know I’m gone.”

“Yeah I would, I’d miss you too much to forget.”

Ever since Louis confronted Liam in the kitchen, and Liam finally got his head out of his ass and made a move, Niall and Liam have been almost inseparable. They did almost everything together, all the while Louis trailed miserably behind them.

Louis looks between of them, grimacing to hide the fond smile forming on his lips, “You know, I didn't get you two together just so I could be the third wheel.” He grumbles, rolling his eyes when Liam leans over to kiss Niall’s cheek.

“So you get us together, and now you’re mad about it?” Niall snorts, raising an eyebrow while Liam chuckles to himself softly.

“I’m not mad that you two are together, honestly it’s about time, but I’m just mad the neither of you pay attention to be anymore.” Louis whines, pushing his plate away.

“You have Zayn to give you all the attention you could ever want now!” Liam says, “How’s that going by the way? Have you sorted everything out?”

Louis slides down into his seat, shrugging his shoulders and frowning.

“Um...about that -”

“Oh my god, please tell me you didn’t fuck this up?” Niall groans, putting a hand over his eyes, “He’s perfect for you. He likes you back, what is the problem?”

Louis feels even worse about the situation once Niall says it. He sits up, leaning his arms against the table.

“I think I’m the problem, guys,” Louis sighs, laying his head on his folded arms. Niall pats him on the back, brow furrowed as he thinks.

“You make things harder than they need to be, Lou,” Liam comments, a worried look on his face. Louis groans in response, leaning back in his chair.

“I know,” Louis says, wiping at his eyes, “Why do I have to ruin everything?”

“You don’t ruin anything, Louis,” Niall replies, meeting his eye, “When’s the last time you talked to him?” Louis blushes at the question, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck.

“A week ago,” He says, voice small, “He probably doesn’t want me anymore.”

“Louis, a week is not enough time to get over someone, trust me,” Liam comments, finishing the last of his dinner, “You still have a chance.”

“But what if he changed his mind? What if -”

“ - Louis, listen, mate,” Niall interrupts, a stern look on his face, “I’ve been friends with you for a very long time, so I know you and I know that you want this to work, right?” Niall asks, not waiting for a reply, “So you’re going to take out your phone, stop being an idiot, and message a boy who clearly likes you back.”

Louis smiles softly at that, fingers tapping on the table, “You really think he likes me back?”  
“Louis, there is photo evidence that he likes you back.” Liam comments, “You were on E! News. I’m sure he likes you back.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” The two other boys say in unison, both having a mixture of fondness and annoyance on their faces.

“O-Okay, I’ll try,” Louis sighs, a new found hope blooming in his chest. Niall claps his hands together, giving Louis a giddy smile.

“Now that we have that settled, who’s paying for dinner?”

++

When Louis and Niall get home, Louis finds a letter poking out of the ‘welcome home’ mat in front of their door.

“What the fuck?” Louis says to himself, bending down to pick it up. He reads cursive writing on the front, heart racing when he realizes it’s from Zayn.

_Open me.  
\-- Z _

“It’s from Zayn,” Louis says to Niall, ripping it open once he says it.

_I’m sorry if I was coming on too strong, Lou, I honestly didn’t mean to scare you off. I put tickets for my last show in Los Vegas in the envelope. If you want, I’d love for you to come so I can apologize in person. I can fly you and the lads out if you want. Just be at the airport at noon and mention my name._

_I could understand if you never want to talk to me again._

_\-- Zayn_

Louis doesn’t stop Niall when he snatches the letter from his hand. He opens the envelope and finds the two tickets for his show, holding them in his hand.

“Are we going?” Niall asks, snatching the tickets out of his hand. Louis shrugs, leaning against the wall next to their door.

“Do you want to?” He asks.

“Are you expecting me to pass up a free trip to Vegas?” Niall snorts, pulling out the key to the door. “Of course I want to.”

Louis smiles, walking in behind Niall as he opens the door.

“Well, I guess we’re going to Vegas.”

||+||

Louis is a mess before, during, and after their plane trip to Vegas. Louis could feel his stomach churning, and it only got worse once the plane took off. The only plus was they were bumped up to first class, so while Niall was pleasantly enjoying heated seats and delicious food, Louis is on the verge of vomiting. Louis exhales a breath he didn’t know he was holding once they get off the plane.

“See? It wasn’t that bad.” Niall says once they walk into the terminal, throwing his bag over his shoulder. Louis gives him a dirty look, lugging his bag over his shoulder.

“Let’s just find a cab,” Louis mumbles, walking outside. The sun is just as unforgiving as it is in California, beating mercilessly down upon Louis and Niall.

“Is this what Hell feels like?” Niall whines, putting on his sunglasses. Louis is about to reply when something catches his eye.

“Is it just me, or is that man holding a sign with my last name on it?” Louis comments, pointing down towards a black SUV with a large man holding a sign. Niall squints his eyes, nodding as they walk closer to the man. The man was wearing a tight fitted v-neck shirt and cargo shorts, his hair buzzed closed to his head. Louis walks up to him, confusion written all over his face.

“Are you Mr. Tomlinson?” The man asks, setting his sunglasses on top of his head. Louis nods his head, looking back at Niall.

“Yea, I’m Louis and this is Niall. And you are -”

“- head of security for Mr.Malik.” He answers, holding out his hand, “Paul.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Mr.Malik is expecting you. I was told to drive you to the hotel we’re booked at.” Paul says, opening the car door. Louis and Niall slide in without a second thought.

||+||

“Oh my god, Louis, we’re not going through this again.” Niall groans, sitting down on Louis’ bed.

It was ten minutes before Zayn’s security was supposed to pick them up and take them to the venue. Louis sits down on the bed, looking through his duffle bag.

“I just want to look nice, okay?” Louis huffs, smiling when he finds his favorite shirt. He puts it on, laying down on the bed.

“You’ve already met him, it’s not like you have to make a good impression,” Niall complains, scrolling through his phone. Louis hits him on the stomach lightly, sitting up. He pushes his bangs to the side, standing up to retrieve his shoes from the other side of the room.

“It’s always nice to make a good impression, Ni,” Louis reminds him, humming to himself as he slips on his Vans, “And I want to make sure I look good so he can know what he’s missing if we don’t end up together.” Louis shrugs, adjusting his hair in the mirror by the bed.

“That’s not going to happen, Louis,” Niall states, leaning back on his arms. Louis turns to him, pouting.

“But how do you know that?” Louis asks, straightening out his shirt.

Niall gives him a soft look, staring straight into his eyes, “I don’t know for certain that everything is going to work out,” Niall starts out, “But I do know that I see a boy who likes you back and is willing to try and make everything work.” Niall shrugs, smiling softly, “And as your best friend, it is my duty to keep your head out of your arse and to make sure that you’re the happiest you can be.”

Louis breaks out into a wide smile, rushing over to the other side of the room. He falls on top of Niall, wrapping his arms around his midsection.

“You’re actually a good friend sometimes.” Louis mumbles against the fabric of Niall’s tank top. Niall pushes Louis off of him, adjusting his hair.

“Yeah well, don’t get use to it. You still piss me off to no end.” Niall laughs, glaring at Louis playfully.

There’s a knock on the door, surprising the both of them. Niall wraps an arm around Louis’ shoulders, raising an eyebrow. “Are you ready?” Louis takes a deep breath, exhaling as he nods.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

||+||

Louis is freaking out.

He was okay on the car ride to the venue, his mind occupied with idle talk with Niall, both of them having a soft conversation in the back seat of an all black SUV. Louis’ nerves were at an all time low, and Louis was thankful for it, but once they were snuck into the back of the venue, panic began to sank in.

Niall and Louis were both given backstage access, receiving badges and then ushered further into the building. They were placed in Zayn’s dressing room after a few minutes, Niall taking a seat on the couch by the door as soon as the door is closed. Louis paces back and forth, stomach churning at the thought of _what if he doesn’t want me?_

“Get out of your own head, Lou,” Niall rasps softly, tapping his foot on the ground. Louis bites him thumb nail, stopping in his tracks.

“I would if I could,” Louis sighs, brushing his hands from his eyes. He stops breathing when the door opens. Zayn peaks his head through first, smiling softly when he notices Louis and Niall. He steps into the room, shutting the door behind him.

Zayn is as gorgeous as ever and it makes Louis’ stomach twist. There’s an awkward silence between the two of them as they stare, both not wanting to ruin whatever moment they were sharing at the moment.

“Hi,” Zayn says after a while, laughing to himself. It takes Louis’ brain a while to register the word, mouth opening before he can think of a reply.

“Hi yourself,” Louis says in reply, crossing his arms over his chest.

They go silent again after Louis says it, both trying to come up with something else to say.

“I’m sorry,” they both say in unison, surprising each other.

Louis snorts to himself, smiling, “I’m sorry for ignoring you.” He says, voice small. Zayn shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry for coming on too strong. I was worried that I scared you way. I-If it wasn’t obvious before, I like you, Lou, and -” Zayn is cut off by Louis pressing his lips against his, holding both sides his face.

Louis is just as surprise as Zayn was, leaning away after a few seconds. Louis blushes, turning his head away from Zayn.

“I like you too,” Louis replies before Zayn can say anything else, “I was just too scared to, like, do anything about it.”

“You can say that again,” Niall comments offhandedly, eyes glued to the screen of his phone. Louis rolls his eyes while Zayn laughs.

Zayn places a hand on Louis’ hip, bringing him closer until he can lean down for another kiss. Louis sighs happily, wrapping his arms around his neck. Zayn’s lips are soft and gentle and Louis can’t believe that he denied himself _this._

Zayn slides his hands until they’re settled into the small of his back, holding him firm against his chest.

“I’m still in here, guys,” Niall comments, coughing into his fist awkwardly. Louis pulls away at that, forehead resting on Zayn’s chin. Zayn kisses Louis’ forehead, nuzzling him as he wraps his arms around him, pulling him into a proper hug.

“Go out with me?” Zayn whispers into Louis’ ear, hugging him even closer. Louis thinks he might fall to the ground if it weren’t for Zayn holding him so tightly. Louis blushes even harder, sighing as he nods.

“Yea, okay,” Louis replies softly, voice breathless.

“We’ll make this work,” Zayn replies, pulling back and smiling down at Louis, “I promise.”

“Okay,” Louis replies, still dazed.

There’s another knock on the door, one of Zayn’s security guards walking in.

“Zayn, you’re on in three minutes,” He reminds him, stepping back out into the hallway.

Zayn grabs onto Louis’ hand without hesitation, “Walk with me?”

Louis squeezes his boyfriend’s hand ( _Zayn Malik is my boyfriend_ ), “Of course.”

Zayn leads them out into the hallway, Niall trailing behind them as they walk down the hall to the entrance to the stage. Zayn wraps an arm around Louis’ waist, pulling him in close as they walk.

“You two have been dating for five minutes and you’re already gross,” Niall complains, but Louis can hear the fondness in his voice. Louis can’t believe that any of this is happening, he can’t believe that Zayn Malik wants to be with _him_ , and he sure as hell can’t believe that he is backstage at a Zayn Malik concert. They reach the back of the stage, the curtains moments away from opening. Zayn leaves a tender kiss on Louis’ cheek, taking a mic that was handed to him a second later.

“Good luck out there,” Louis comments, “You’re going to do great.”

Zayn winks at him before the lights go down, his thin frame disappearing around the curtain. Louis knows the exact moment the crowd sees Zayn, thousands of people screaming all at once when the lights come back on.

“Los Vegas! How are we doing tonight?” Zayn says, holding th mic out to the audience. Louis can see part of the stage from the where the curtain is partly open.

The crowd is just as loud when they respond to his question. Zayn laughs, bright eyed and excited and it makes Louis heart constrict.

Zayn walks around in an aimless circle, waiting for the crowd to calm down. He catches Louis’ eye, giving him a quick glance.

“I’m going to be honest with you guys,” Zayn says once the arena is slightly quieter, “I’ve been thinking a lot lately and I’ve realized that I haven’t been myself,” Zayn starts out, flipping his hair from his eyes, “I hadn’t been truly happy for a while now, and I was wondering why that was.”

Zayn smiles softly at the loud ‘awhs’ he got from the crowd, waiting until they settled to continue speaking, “And then recently, I finally figured out why.” Zayn flits his eyes towards Louis’ for a split second, expression unreadable. Louis feels his heart drop down to his stomach, the palms of his hands sweating. “I haven’t been truthful to you guys. I haven’t been truthful to myself, really,” Zayn snorts dryly, pressing a hand over his eyes, “And I need to be honest to myself; I need to be honest with all of you,” Zayn looks over at Louis one more time, a glint of _something_ in his eyes. Zayn shakes his head lightly, looking more vulnerable than Louis’ ever seen him.

“I’m gay.”

Louis thinks he might pass out. Louis raises his eyebrows, looking between Zayn and the crowd.The crowd erupts into a racous cheer.

Zayn smiles at the response, looking back at Louis and smiling even wider. Louis claps his hands along with the crowd, feeling tears forming in his eyes.

“It feels really nice to say that out loud,” Zayn states breathlessly, wiping at his eyes. He clears his throat, looking out over the crowd, “This first song is dedicated to a special boy from San Francisco.” Zayn says as the music starts to play.

Zayn blows a kiss to Louis as he moves across the stage, singing the first few notes of the song.

And as Louis watches him, he smiles to himself. The future is uncertain, but Louis knows that whatever happens, they will get through it. Together.


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's 4 years later and Louis still thinks that it's all a dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the day I finished the story, I really wanted to write an epilogue for it. So here it is!!!  
> So please enjoy?  
> Any mistakes still left here are my own.

**Four years later**

 

“You nervous?” Zayn asks him softly, wrapping his arms around his waist. Louis pouts at him, their eyes meeting in the mirror. He adjusts the cuffs of his shirt, turning his head to kiss Zayn’s cheek. 

“A little,” Louis admits, swaying side to side, “I just can’t believe it’s finally here.” Zayn hums in agreement, kissing Louis’ neck. He moves around him, stopping in front of him as he wraps Louis up into a proper hug. 

“The film is great, Lou, everyone is going to love it,” Zayn reassures, kissing his forehead, The action sends a familiar ache through Louis’ body, one that craves for Zayn’s touch. Louis simply nods his head, arms wrapping around Zayn’s neck. 

“But what if they don’t? What if I spent _two years_ writing and producing and filming for -” Zayn shuts him up with a kiss, moving them back until the backs of Louis’ knees hit the bed. Louis sighs again, the bundle of nerves forming in his stomach making every breath he takes uneasy. He goes down willingly, looking up once Zayn is settling on top of him. Zayn brushes his thumb against Louis’ lips, intertwining their fingers after. 

“You’re ruining your pants,” Louis whispers softly, looking down at the very expensive suit pants Zayn was wearing. Zayn just shrugs, an easy grin forming on his face. 

“I want to ruin you though,” He huffs lowly, raising an eyebrow suggestively. Louis snorts, grinning as he cups his hands over his face. 

“You’re ridiculous,” Louis groans, smiling up at Zayn, “We don’t have time for sex, we leave in fifteen minutes.” Zayn pouts, thin fingers pressing against the buttons of Louis’ shirt, his hands wander further down, fingers skating across the exposed skin where Louis’ shirt was raised. 

“But you’re tense and I want to make you feel better,” Zayn whines dramatically, hand slipping under Louis’ shirt. Louis jumps at the contact, hand reaching down to grab Zayn’s wrist. Louis can feel the blush burning on his cheeks and can feel the blood in his body rushing down south. 

“Distracting me with sex isn’t going to work this time,” Louis tries to reason, though he can’t stop himself from laughing, “Also, you’ll need more than fifteen minutes to make me come.” Louis says, raising an eyebrow. Zayn meets his eye, grinning filthily as his hands start to unbotton his shirt. 

“Is that a challenge?” He asks, not waiting for an answer as he bends down to kiss him. 

=+= 

Of course they’re late. They’re always late nowadays. 

It takes them an extra forty minutes to get down to the premiere (twenty of which was spent getting cleaned up and redressed), once they’re out of the car and onto the red carpet, Louis spots a pissed off Niall with Liam following quickly behind him. 

“What the hell took you two so long?” He whispers in Louis’ ear, dragging him down the carpet. 

“We...got distracted.” Louis replies, shrugging. Niall lets go of him at that, rolling his eyes. 

“I hate newlyweds,” Niall mumbles under his breath (though he says it with a smile on his face), waiting until Liam and Zayn catch up with them. Zayn wraps his arm around Louis’ waist, walking in step behind Niall and Liam. 

“He says he hates newlyweds and yet he was one not too long ago,” Louis whispers to Zayn, shaking his head. 

They stop once they get to the press area, smiling and posing until they have to move on. Louis grabs onto Zayn’s hand, the two walking side by side until they come to their first interviewer. 

“Louis! Can I have a moment with you?” The interviewer asks, bring red lips curling into an almost intimidating smile. Louis nods his head, pulling Zayn along with him. 

“So, Louis, how does it feel to be at your first premiere? Not only do you star in the film, but you also helped write and direct it?” She asks, putting her microphone up to his lips. He smiles brightly at that, his nerves melting into excited energy. 

“It feels almost surreal, I never would’ve thought in a million years that I’d be casted in a movie this big, and to be able to be apart of the behind the scenes work too is just a dream come true.” Louis answers honestly, smiling even wider when Zayn hugs him closer to his side. The interviewer notices the exchange, turning her eyes to Zayn. 

“Zayn, how do you feel about the new movie? Are you proud of what Louis has accomplished? “ The way that Zayn looks down at Louis (almost like Louis painted the stars in the sky himself) has him weak at the knees, heart hammering against his chest. 

“The film is one of the best that I’ve seen in my life,” He hums, eyes scanning down to Louis’ lips and back up, “But I may be a bit biased since my husband is in it.” 

Husband. Louis is Zayn Malik’s husband. 

Louis sighs lovingly, fingers itching to touch every part of Zayn’s body. Louis was gone, he was so gone for this man. The love that he felt for him was unmeasurable; growing every single day. 

“Words can’t even describe how proud of Louis I am, he poured his heart and soul into this project and I think it all paid off in the end. He worked day in and day out and I will forever be in awe of him.” Zayn concludes, shrugging shyly. The surge of emotion that rushes through Louis’ body is almost too much for him to handle. He presses his hand agaisnt Zayn’s cheek, leaning up to kiss him on the lips. 

“Love you,” Louis whispers against his lips. Zayn leans down to steal one last kiss, eyes bright with love. 

“Love you more,” He whispers back. 

“You two are so perfect for each other! How’d you find the time to even get married? Zayn, you were touring for most of last year and recording for the coming up album, and Louis you were busy with the film. How did you do it?” The interviewer asks.

Louis looks up to Zayn for him to elaborate, but once he doesn’t, Louis turns to her. 

“Well, it all was sort of on a whim. Zayn was visiting me while I was in France shooting for the movie. We were in our hotel room when we just decided to do it. Luckily, my mates were with me as well and before we knew it, we were married.” Louis smiles, playing with the ring on his left hand. It was a black onyx engagement ring, one that Zayn picked up hours after they already said ‘I do.’ They still need to shop for wedding bands, but he knows they have all the time in the world to do that. 

“Have you two planned a honeymoon yet?” 

“We did go on a nice day trip to Spain the day after, but we definitely wouldn’t call that a Honeymoon,” Zayn says, looking between the woman and Louis, “I want to take him somewhere special.” Louis blushes at the answer, adoration swelling up in his chest. 

“Fantastic! I hope you two have a wonderful trip,” The interviewer says, looking at the camera and then back to them, “I have one last question. There have been rumors going around that a duet album between the two of you is in the works? Can you confirm that for us?” Louis opens his mouth to deny it when Zayn speaks up. 

“Actually, it is happening,” Zayn says, nodding his head, “Louis has a wonderful voice and we’re doing a song for my album as well as a deut EP.” Zayn shrugs, kissing Louis’ forehead. Louis opens and closes his mouth, looking up at Zayn.  
The interviewer looks close to tears of joy at the news, “Fantastic! We’ll be looking forward to that! Thank you so much for your time.” She says, turning to the camera. Zayn and Louis take it as their cue to leave, walking down the rest of the red carpet hand in hand. 

“We are?” Louis asks softly once they get inside of the buildinh. They’re unshered into a suite before Zayn can reply. Once they both have a glass of champagne in hand, Zayn nods. He doesn’t meet his eye for a few seconds, biting his lip shyly. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something…” Zayn trails off, laughing when Louis elbows him in the stomach. 

“Prick,” Louis mumbles, with no real heat behind it. Zayn takes his hand, raising an eyebrow at him as he takes a sip from his glass. 

“So? Do you want to do it?” Zayn asks, biting his lip once he says it. Louis smiles shyly at him. 

“Okay, Mr.Tomlinson, I’ll do it.” Louis says, bringing Zayn closer and kissing him on the cheek. Zayn wraps his arms around Louis, chin resting on Louis’ head. 

“Thank you, Mr.Malik, it is much appreciated.” He comments lowly. 

“Get a room, specifically a room that is not this one,” Niall groans, closing the door behind him and Liam. Liam slaps him the shoulder, pursing his lips. 

“Oh you’re just cranky because you haven’t gotten any recently,” Louis replies, blowing a kiss at him when Niall flips him off. Niall leans against Liam, sipping on a glass of champagne. 

“Fatherhood will do that to you,” Liam says, shrugging his shoulders. Zayn pulls Louis along with him as he walks over to Liam, offering him a pleasant smile. 

“How’s the baby anyway?” 

Liam smiles brightly at the question, looking down at Niall. “She’s absolutely perfect.” He murmurs, smiling even more when Niall nods in agreement. 

“How old is she again?” Louis asks, his heart melting at the thought of her. Louis was quite surprised when Niall and Liam announced that they were adopting, he was even more surprised when he found out that they already did it. Marcy was everything that any of them could ask for, it made Louis excited about starting a family of his own one day. 

“Eight months,” The two boys say in unison, both sounding as happy as can be. 

“We’re going to have to leave a little early, we told the babysitter we’d be back at eleven.” Liam says, yawning into his fist. 

“I can’t believe you two are dads,” Louis comments, shaking his head, “A lot has changed in four years.” The others hum in agreement, silently sipping on their drinks. Zayn raises his glass, looking down at Louis and then at Liam and Niall. 

“Cheers to Louis and his amazing film,” Zayn states, pausing before he continues, “And here’s to another four years and whatever that might entail.” The four of them clink glasses, taking a sip from them after. Louis holds his up again, smiling at Niall and Liam. 

“And cheers to Liam and Niall. You two are great parents.” Niall kisses Liam on the cheek at that, raising his glass. 

A few minutes later, Zayn looks at the watch on his wrist, “The film is going to start in a few moments,” He says, setting down his empty glass. He takes Louis’ hand, leading him out of the door and down the hall. Liam and Niall are hand in hand beside them and honestly Louis didn’t know what he did to deserve the life he had now. 

He was married, successful, an _uncle_ (though not by blood, but he figures it doesn’t matter much). He sighs once they get to the doors of the theater, Zayn holding open the door. 

“Are you okay?” Zayn asks, walking close behind him. Louis squeezes his hand reassuringly, leading them down the aisle until they find the spot they want. 

“More than okay,” Louis says softly, leaning his head on Zayn’s shoulder as he snuggles into his embrace.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!!  
> Feel free to leave a comment! I love hearing feedback!  
> Kudos are much appreciated!! 
> 
> tumblr: [personal](http://www.blissless-oblivion.tumblr.com) | [one direction blog](http://www.angelic-lilo.tumblr.com)


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